Surgical training devices have been developed to help teach students how to suture and perform other surgical techniques in a video laparoscopic environment. As opposed to a fully invasive surgical environment in which the surgeon can directly view the patient's internal organs and the surgical instruments, a video laparoscopic environment uses a video camera inserted into the patient through a trocar and connected to a video monitor. The surgeon accesses the patient's internal organs with laparoscopic instruments inserted through ports in the patient's abdomen. The surgeon relies only on a two-dimensional image of the laparoscopic instruments and the patient's internal organs as viewed through the video monitor to perform suturing and other surgical techniques.
Students must be trained using cadavers, animal specimens, or surgical training devices in order to learn to perform basic suturing and other surgical techniques in a video laparoscopic environment. Conventional laparoscopic surgical training devices include curved or flat structures in which the entry ports cause the laparoscopic instruments to be inserted vertically downward. This causes a fulcrum effect that influences surgical dexterity and accuracy.